Celebrate Juneteenth at The Center for Black Literature & Culture’s 5th Annual Indy Book Fest and Juneteenth Celebration

Celebrate Juneteenth at the Center for Black Literature & Culture's 5th Annual Indy Book Fest and Juneteenth Celebration, taking place June 18, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Central Library. This event will include activities for all ages to discuss Juneteenth, enjoy a live DJ, sign up for the Summer Reading Program, meet local Black authors, and participate in a 360 photo booth hosted by DJ N4RED.

The Library is honored to partner with the YMCA's Monster Meeting series to welcome Professor Annette Gordon-Reed to Central, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning The Hemingses of Monticello: an American Family and On Juneteenth, for a pre-recorded guided conversation and breakout discussions.

“It’s really exciting to be having the fifth year of Book Fest for the CBLC in person, especially coming out of the trying times that the pandemic has placed on our events,” said Amira Malcom, interim manager of the Center for Black Literature & Culture. “We’re looking forward to having everyone learn more about the history of Juneteenth and the impact the holiday has on today’s culture with our conversation with Professor Annette Gordon-Reed, and providing an opportunity for patrons to learn more by exploring the CBLC and signing up for library cards. The community is really hungry to have a place to learn and discuss these important topics, and as the interim manager of the space, I’m grateful to be a part in providing that in our city.”

Juneteenth, officially recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, has long been celebrated to commemorate the day federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865, two years after President Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation, to take control of the state and ensure that more than 250,000 enslaved people were freed by executive decree.

The Indy Book Fest & Juneteenth Celebration is sponsored by the Library's African American History Committee in support of the Center for Black Literature & Culture at Central Library. The CBLC is made possible by Lilly Endowment Inc.

All Library locations except the InfoZone will be closed on June 19 and June 20 in observance of the Juneteenth holiday.